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I am starting my first hive this year. I have painted everything with 2 coats of exterior primer as recommended by our bee club (outside of everything), except I painted the entire inner cover. Is that okay.

Also for a stand to put the hives on, I have several pieces of 4x4 pressure treated lumber. Can I use this around the bees?

&gt; While we don't usually do this in the US. It
&gt; probably won't hurt anything.

Wow, I'd hate to see anyone do that.
While modern paints are much less "smelly"
than older paints, they still outgas all
sorts of nasty compounds for quite some
time after the paint is dry to the touch.

On the outside of the hive, the outgassing
is dispersed into the air, but inside the
hive, I'd worry about the fumes for a few
weeks. Few people get everything painted
in Jan and Feb when we should get it done.

There's a great photo somewhere of a guy
nailing together hive bodies, while in
the background sits two packages. I think
that this is more typical than anyone wants
to admit, but the photo makes me laugh.

Painting the inside of a hive is not really
required anyway - the bees do a fine job of
coating every surface with a thin layer of
"shellac" made from propolis, and if left to
their own choices, will maintain their fine
wood floors and walls as if they were tiny
little Martha Stewarts.

Bottom boards are a different matter. They
are more "exposed" to the elements, as rain
comes in the entrance, and think of all the
moisture tracked in by 50,000 bees at 6 little
feet per bee! We paint bottom boards about
6 inches into the hive on the inside.